Varoufakis criticizes Switzerland for hiding Greek tax evaders

Switzerland is providing only limited information about rich tax evaders who have stashed about €80 billion from cash-strapped Greece, Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis said in an interview with Swiss state broadcaster SRF.

“Sometimes we know that
someone has taken money away from Greece. But we do not know in
what city or which bank it is located in Switzerland. We know too
little to be able to locate the black money,”Varoufakistoldthe Rundschau program on SRF on
Wednesday.

It is impossible to
obtain the information from Swiss authorities, he added.

Athens is working on a plan to give tax evaders the opportunity
to voluntarily disclose themselves, and make them invest in Greek
economy. The evaders would pay a 22 percent penalty in such a
case.

“It’s never easy finding a middle ground,” said
Varoufakis, adding that if the penalty is too low, justice won’t
be done. If it is higher, the plan wouldn’t work.

Varoufakis hasn’t detailed the exact sum hidden away in Swiss
banks, saying it’s like “an archeological dig, before you dig
you do not know what you will find.” Experts estimate the
sum at about €80 billion.

Swiss authorities deny the accusation, saying proposals have been
made to Athens and they are willing to make “better use of
existing laws” to help the country facing default.

Greece and its creditors have been unable to reach a deal in
talks over its €240 billion debt since the end of January when
Syriza came to power in Greece. Fears of Greece defaulting are
causing a bank run as Greeks rapidly withdraw cash.

Swiss banking secrecy
started in 1934, when the Federal Act on Banks and Savings Banks
was introduced. Article 47 of the Act made it a criminal offence
for banks to disclose their clients’ identities.

The country has been trying to make its banking more open.

In May, Switzerland signed an agreement with the European Union
for the automatic exchange of information on the accounts of its
citizens. From 2018 the
EU will regularly receive the names, addresses, tax
identification numbers and dates of birth of their people with
accounts in Switzerland, as well as the balance of their
accounts.This new
agreement is a serious blow to those who hide undeclared income
to evade taxes at home in Swiss banks.